Are you prepared for divorced military parenting?

When military couples with children divorce, they must deal with not only the issues that all divorcing parents face, but also some additional difficulties. If you and your military spouse are facing a divorce on the horizon, or if you are already knee-deep in one, you must focus on creating the best possible post-divorce environment for your children.

One of the most important things to consider is how you and your spouse will balance one or both of your service requirements with your responsibilities as a parent. Depending on the age of your children, you may still continue to deal with these matters throughout their entire upbringing. It is very difficult to know exactly what the status will be a year from now, let alone 10 or 15 years in the future.

Whereas most parents must work together to create a parenting plan on which they both agree, a single plan may not be sufficient for military families. Considering the wide range of circumstances that may influence your availability as a parent, or where in the world you may be serving at any given time, it is wise for military parents to compensate for this additional uncertainty by preparing back-up parenting plans. These plans could kick in in the event a parent faces long-term deployment or other complicated scenarios.

This is difficult enough to accomplish one time, so creating these types of agreements several times over can be exceptionally draining. Be sure that you get all the help you need to carefully and fairly navigate this important issue appropriately. An experienced attorney can help you to remain focused on the needs of the child(ren). Meanwhile, your negotiations can establish several contingency plans for future parenting, both together and separately.

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